After taking the state boards in August of that year, she joined Bob in Hawaii, where he was stationed aboard the USS Taylor. They had four children – Daniel, Allison, Stuart and Melanie. They all traveled extensively compliments of the U.S. Navy, having homes in Hawaii; Long Beach, California; San Diego, California (2); Bremerton, Washington area (2); Virginia Beach, Virginia; Washington, D.C. area (2); Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania; and the Philippines. Kaye worked for 15 years as the evening charge nurse on a unit at a facility in Fairfax, Virginia, where she was not only a nurse, but also played the roles of daughter, mother and sister to people suffering from Alzheimer’s.
In 1996, with the family nest empty, Bob and Kaye retired, had a home built in Mt. Holly Springs, Pennsylvania, where they (both having grown up in small towns) enjoyed returning to that easy life style. They traveled to Scotland and Ireland, took cruises and hit all 50 states at least once. In 2007, feeling something missing in their lives, they went back to their Methodist roots, becoming active members of the Mt. Holly Springs Methodist Church. In 2018, they moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, where they took up apartment life next to a pond and golf course, equally entertained by the antics of wildlife and golfers, and became members of Trinity United Methodist Church. She lived her last four months in assisted living, well cared for by staff at The Knolls and Traditions Health Hospice.
Kaye is survived by Bob and their children, Dan (Shelley), Lincoln; Allison Mayo (Kevin), Woodbridge, Virginia; Stuart (Tracey), Manning, South Carolina; and Melanie Hersey (Rob), Jacksonville, Florida. She also is survived by her brother Warren of Omaha, Nebraska, whose wife Donna died in 2004, and nieces Jan Bedord (Jeff) and Jo Newbold. A nephew, Derrik Newbold, died in a car accident at age 16.
When she married Bob, she was welcomed into his family including two brothers, William and Richard. Among the survivors is a sister-in-law, Karen Moser, four nieces and two nephews and many “greats.” Kaye’s parents came from large families which gave her numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. Some of those cousins, who were more like siblings, survive her.
She and Bob were blessed with nine grandchildren; Brian (Jeralynn), Sean (Sadie), Meghan Timmins (Nate) and Sarah Moser; Nathan (Abby Basham), Joe, Becca and Gabe Mayo; and Robert (Eva) Hersey Jr. Added to the family tree were great-grandchildren Adelaide Kaye and Emerson Marie (Brian and Jeralynn); Oliver, Simon and Nora (Sean and Sadie); and Michael and James (Meghan and Nate).
Services will be 11 a.m. Dec. 10 at Roper and Sons South Chapel, 3950 Hohensee Dr., Lincoln, Nebraska, with the Rev. Jeff Slater of Trinity United Methodist Church officiating.
Memorials can be made to the family for later designation.